Young actors bring 'Little Mermaid' to life

Up in Lights Productions will stage 'The Little Mermaid Jr.' June 28-29

By Bev Reeves Special to the Reporter-Herald

Posted:
06/20/2013 08:04:06 AM MDT

"The Little Mermaid Jr." the next offering by Up in Lights Productions, will bring the well know fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen to the Loveland stage for performances on Friday and Saturday, June 28 and 29.

The familiar intrigues in the original book are about a magical kingdom fathoms below, where the beautiful young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula, and convince Prince Eric that she's the girl with the enchanting voice.

The Loveland show is adapted from Disney's 2008 production and features the hit songs "Part of Your World," "She's in Love," and "Kiss the Girls."

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"This is the original story of Ariel and is called 'Jr.' because this version is a little shorter. That's because the original is still on Broadway," said Britni Girard, who started Up In Lights Productions in Loveland. The local performing company received special permission to produce this version.

There are actually three different shows featuring the popular mermaid, beginning with the 1989 movie and the 2000 and 2009 Broadway productions, all produced by Walt Disney Studios.

The Up in Lights production features a 45-member cast, including sea creatures, lagoon animals -- even seagulls.

"We have an incredibly strong cast of performers. Most of them have been with us since they were little. They all auditioned for their parts and are expanding their performances by working on this full-scale musical," Girard said.

"The Little Mermaid Jr." stars the participants of UIL's summer camp 2 -- mostly children age 8 to 11.

The performers include Madeline Madere, Ariel; Henri Englehorn, Prince Eric; Alexandra Ramirez, Ursula; Christopher Wolton, Flounder; and Breakan Wald, Sebastian. Amie Pyler is the director of the production and Cole Emarine is the choreographer.

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